It is well known that fecal material is often difficult to remove from the skin of the user, in particular on sensitive skin such as that of young babies and the skin around the genitals. Moreover, it is well known that fecal material on the skin can cause irritation and redness of the skin and sometimes even dermatitis.
One of the solutions to reduce the fecal material on the skin is to provide a means to isolate the fecal material immediately after discharge, away from the skin. For example, diapers with a topsheet with one or more openings, through which the feces can pass to a void space between the topsheet and the absorbent core, have been developed. The fecal material is then stored underneath this topsheet, away from the skin.
However, occasionally still some fecal material may transfer back onto the skin including on the genitals.
Therefore, an absorbent article with a genital coversheet, which protects in use the genitals from being soiled by the fecal material, has been developed. This cover is typically only present in the areas of the topsheet and of the opening, which are in proximity with the genitals (i.e., the front of the opening in the topsheet of the diaper), to allow sufficient open space to pass the fecal material through. The cover may be an integral part of said topsheet with the opening, or it may be an additional component (sheet) attached to for example the topsheet with the opening.
Preferably, the genital coversheet is such that it forms a pocket in use, which can partially enclose the genitals.